Attitude  of  the  Western  Whigs 
Toward  the  Convention  System 


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CHARLES  MANFRED  THOMPSON 


Reprinted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the 
MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL 
ASSOCIATION,  Volume  V 


ATTITUDE  OF  THE  WESTERN  WHIGS  TOWARD 
THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 

By  Charles  Manfred  Thompson 


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The  present  widespread  agitation  for  the  displacing 
of  nominating  conventions  by  preferential  and  mandatory 
primaries,  is  but  a  phase  of  the  more  general  agitation 
for  a  change  of  government  from  a  pure  representative 
type  to  one  in  which  the  will  of  the  people  may  be  more 
quickly  and  effectively  expressed.  The  question  of  repre¬ 
sentative  government,  which  is  intimately  bound  up  with 
the  Constitution  and  its  development,  has  been,  and  is 
now,  receiving  with  an  increased  interest  the  attention  of 
scholars,  publicists,  and  statesmen;  but  the  nominating 
convention,  which  is  a  logical  offshoot  of  the  representa¬ 
tive  form  of  American  government  has,  until  a  very  re¬ 
cent  time,  been  the  subject  of  minor  consideration,  par¬ 
ticularly  as  regards  the  attitude  of  one  or  the  other  of  the 
great  parties  during  the  days  of  its  infancy.  The  con¬ 
clusions  herein  drawn  relate  primarily  to  conditions  in 
Illinois,  but  a  study  of  the  contemporary  press  of  Ohio 
and  Indiana  seems  to  show  that  the  Whigs  in  the  three 
States  held  in  general  a  similar  attitude  toward  the  con¬ 
vention  system. 

National  nominating  conventions  as  they  are  known 
at  the  present  time,  first  came  into  use  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  the  will  of  a  political  party  through  chosen 
representatives,  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1832. 
The  first  in  the  field  was  that  of  the  Anti-Masons.  A  little 
later  the  National  Republicans  held  their  convention,  and, 
as  had  been  predicted  on  all  sides,  selected  Clay  as  their 
standard  bearer.  Last  in  point  of  time,  but  far  more  im¬ 
portant  in  results  than  the  other  two,  was  the  Democratic 


p 3711? 


The  date,  1331,  given  for  the  convention  that  nominated  Van 
Buren  for  vice-president  should  read  1832. 


168  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


Convention,  which  chose  Van  Bnren  for  second  place  on 
the  ticket  headed  by  Jackson. 

The  great  importance  of  the  Democratic  Convention 
arises  from  the  fact  that  in  later  years  those  factions  of 
the  Whig  Party  which  opposed  conventions  in  one  form 
or  another  used  as  the  basis  of  their  arguments  against 
the  system,  the  well  founded  charge  that  the  Democratic 
Convention  of  1831  was  not  only  packed  with  office-hold¬ 
ers  and  hence  did  not  represent  the  people  at  large  but 
that  it  used  steam  roller  methods  in  nominating  Van 
Buren.1  Particularly  in  the  West,  where  Johnson  had  a 
comparatively  strong  following,  was  there  considerable 
dissatisfaction  with  the  Convention’s  choice  for  Vice 
President,  and  this  hostile  feeling  was  accentuated  when 
it  was  considered  that  the  East  had  been  more  than  pro¬ 
portionally  represented  in  that  body  which  had  so  sum¬ 
marily  dismissed  the  claims  of  the  “slayer  of  Tecumseh”. 
Even  the  anti-convention  Whigs,  who  recognized  a  logical 
relationship  between  their  own  party  and  the  old  Nation¬ 
al  Republicans,  explained  away  the  apparent  inconsist¬ 
ency  of  their  position  by  claiming  that  the  body  which 
had  nominated  Clay  in  1831  was  by  no  means  a  nominat¬ 
ing  convention,  but  rather  a  meeting  at  which  the  oppo¬ 
nents  of  the  administration  met  “to  exchange  senti¬ 
ments”;  and  to  support  this  argument  they  produced 
ample  evidence  from  the  contemporary  anti- Jackson 
press.2  According  to  the  statements  of  the  opponents  of 
the  convention  system,  Clay’s  selection  was  incidental 
and  of  secondary  importance,  for  he  was  the  only  logical 
candidate  of  the  party  at  that  time.  It  was  claimed,  more¬ 
over,  and  with  considerable  truth,  that  the  National  Re¬ 
publican  Convention  was  not,  as  was  that  held  by  the 
Democrats,  composed  of  delegates,  many  of  whom  were 
under  obligation  not  only  to  a  political  party  with  a  num- 

1  Alton  Telegraph,  May  13,  1843. 

2  Utica  Intelligencer  (New  York),  August  17,  1830;  Cincinnati  Amer¬ 
ican,  December  13,  1830. 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


169 


ber  of  offices  to  be  distributed,  but  what  was  more  signi¬ 
ficant  to  a  single  and  powerful  individual.3  The  last  step 
in  the  argument  against  the  convention  system,  and  the 
one  that  appeared  most  forceful,  was  to  show  the  inti¬ 
mate  relation  between  the  old  Congressional  caucus  and  a 
convention  made  up  of  office-holders.  Without  stopping 
to  analyze  these  two  institutions  in  order  to  discover 
where  the  arguments  used  to  connect  them  are  fallacious, 
it  is  enough  to  state  that  many  in  both  parties  believed 
that  they  were  differing  types  of  the  same  species  —  in¬ 
stitutions  created  by  office-holders  and  professional  poli¬ 
ticians  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  sovereign  will  of 
the  people. 

The  most  important  inimediate  result  of  the  opposi¬ 
tion  to  the  convention  that  nominated  Van  Buren  for  the 
vice  presidency  in  1831,  was  a  considerable  accession  to 
the  ranks  of  the  anti-administrationists.4  In  Illinois, 
where  there  had  been  a  deep  schism  in  the  Democratic 
ranks  over  the  Van  Buren- Johnson  contest,  many  of  the 
latter’s  friends  denounced  the  methods  used  to  defeat 
their  champion,  and  soon  after  allied  themselves  with  the 
opposition;  and  after  the  advent  of  the  Whig  Party  in 
1834,  it  is  this  element  that  kept  up  the  anti-convention 
fight  long  after  the  old  line  National  Republican- Whigs 

had  become  reconciled  to  the  convention  svstem.  The 

%/ 

dictatorial  and  proscriptive  methods  of  Jackson’s  man¬ 
agers  were  no  less  in  evidence  in  the  convention  of  1831 
than  they  had  been  in  the  administration  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  ;  and  on  account  of  these  methods,  those  members  of 
the  Democratic  Party  who  were  becoming  dissatisfied 
with  the  attitude  of  the  administration  toward  national 
policies  were  forced  into,  or  very  near,  the  ranks  of  the 
opposition. 

Following  the  general  scheme  of  defeating  Van 

s  Alton  Telegraph,  May  13,  1843. 

*  Joseph  Duncan  was  the  most  striking  example  in  Illinois.  See  note 
at  the  end  of  this  paper. 


170  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


Buren  in  1836,  by  combining  against  him  the  strength  of 
the  favorite  sons  of  many  widely  located  sections,  no  Na¬ 
tional  Whig  Convention  was  held,  and  as  far  as  the  news¬ 
papers  of  Illinois  disclose  the  fact,  none  was  seriously 
considered.  In  accordance  with  precedents  of  1824  and 
1826,  however,  various  candidates  were  brought  forward 
by  State  legislatures,  such  as  McLean  in  Ohio  and  White 
by  the  Senate  in  Illinois,  while  Van  Buren  received  the 
endorsement  of  the  House.5  At  the  same  time  the  Whigs, 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  latter  State  went  on  rec¬ 
ord  against  State  and  county  conventions  by  “resolving, 
that  we  believe  the  establishment  of  the  Convention  sys¬ 
tem  in  this  state,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  all  state 
and  county  officers,  to  be  anti-republican,  and  ought  not 
to  be  tolerated  in  a  republican  government.  ’ ’  With  two 
exceptions  all  the  Whigs  present  voted  for  the  resolu¬ 
tion,  and  with  them  voted  five  Democrats  from  the  south¬ 
ern  part  of  the  State.6 

Supporting  this  resolution  were  many  old  line  Whigs 
who  cared  little  about  the  abstract  principles  upon  which 
opposition  to  the  convention  was  based,  but  who  consid¬ 
ered  that  a  pretense  of  believing  the  institution  unrepub¬ 
lican  might  bring  the  users  of  it  into  disrepute  with  the 
voters,  or  compel  them  to  abandon  it  entirely,  with  the 
result  that  a  dissipation  of  party  strength  at  the  polls 
would  come  about  through  the  introduction  of  indepen¬ 
dent  Democratic  candidates,  just  as  had  happened  in  the 
gubernatorial  elections  of  1826  and  1834.  Closely  con¬ 
nected  with  this  attempt  to  discountenance  the  convention 
was  the  party  caucus,  which  the  Whigs  used  as  a  means 
for  concentrating  voting  strength.  Under  the  leadership 

5  The  Western  Hemisphere ,  January  2,  1835;  Illinois  Senate  Journal , 
1835-1836,  pp.  76  if.;  Illinois  House  Journal ,  1835-1836,  pp.  211  fit*. 

«  At  about  the  same  time  the  Democrats  in  convention  endorsed  the 
convention  system.  —  See  Illinois  Intelligencer,  October  21,  1835;  also 
Sangamo  Journal,  December  12,  1835;  and  Illinois  Advocate,  December  17, 
1833. 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


171 


of  Lincoln,  Webb,  Davidson,  Edwards,  and  others,  the 
Whig  candidates  were  usually  not  allowed  to  multiply 
unduly,  and  in  a  surprisingly  large  number  of  cases 
slates  were  successfully  made  by  a  small  group  of  Whig 
politicians,  most  of  whom  were  members  of  the  General 
Assembly.7 

The  caucus  was  quite  as  unpopular  among  the  people 
at  large  as  was  the  convention,  but  the  saving  grace  of  the 
former  institution  was  the  lack  of  reliable  information 
about  it.  The  Democratic  press  protested  loudly  against 
it,  but  so  long  as  no  positive  evidence  of  its  existence 
could  be  brought  forward,  the  effect  of  such  denuncia¬ 
tions,  from  an  origin  so  partisan  as  were  the  papers  of 
the  time,  was  slight.  The  Democratic  State  Convention, 
which  chose  candidates  for  State  officers  in  1838,  amidst 
the  hisses  and  groans  of  the  Whig  press,  was  stigmatized 
by  the  opposition  as  a  ‘ 4 slaughter  pen”.  Yet  all  the  evi¬ 
dence  at  hand  points  to  the  truth  of  the  charge  made  by 
the  Democrats  of  the  time  that  the  Whig  candidate  for 
governor,  Cyrus  Edwards,  was  chosen  by  a  midnight 
caucus  made  up  of  prominent  Whigs  from  all  over  the 
State,  many  of  whom  were  office-holders.  Thus  charges 
and  counter-charges  of  political  bossism  were  made  so 
repeatedly  by  the  leaders  and  press  of  both  parties,  that 
it  is  a  great  wonder  that  there  was  not  developed  in  the 
minds  of  the  voters  a  very  great  repugnance  to  one  or  the 
other  system. 

Repeated  defeats  at  last  convinced  the  more  astute 
leaders  of  the  Whig  Party,  that  the  people  did  not  con¬ 
sider  the  growth  of  the  convention  system  as  a  menace  to 
their  liberties.  So  much  so  did  this  feeling  come  to  pos¬ 
sess  the  leaders  and  press,  that  by  1839,  the  desirability 

7  Both  parties  used  thfe  term  1 1  caucus M  in  a  very  loose  manner.  See 
Cincinnati  Gazette,  March  4,  1830;  Scioto  Gazette,  March  24,  1830;  Cin¬ 
cinnati  American,  September  13,  1830;  and  State  Register  (Illinois),  Sep¬ 
tember  7,  1837. 


172  Mississippi  Valley  historical  association 


of  a  nominating  convention  within  the  State  was  very 
generally  recognized.  In  that  year  many  Whig  county 
conventions  were  held,  and  the  culmination  of  the  move¬ 
ment  was  the  State  Whig  Convention,  the  first  ever  held 
by  that  party  in  the  State,  which  convened  at  Springfield 
in  October,  1839.  At  this  convention,  electors  were 
chosen,  committees  appointed,  and  a  definite  campaign  of 
action  outlined.8  This  meeting  marks  the  passing  away 
of  the  old  haphazard  method  of  trusting  to  the  Whig 
press  to  plan  the  campaign,  harmonize  measures,  and  pre¬ 
vent  multiplication  of  candidates,  and  with  the  notable 
exception  of  1842,  the  old  plan  was  never  again  generally 
resorted  to.  Nor  was  this  transition  to  a  new  and  more 
definite  basis  of  choosing  candidates  made  without  oppo¬ 
sition  both  from  within  and  without  the  ranks  of  the  party. 
On  the  one  hand,  the  Democratic  press  ridiculed  the 
Whigs  for  their  inconsistency,  and  justly  laid  claim  to  the 
nominating  convention  as  a  Democratic  institution;  on 
the  other  hand,  a  faction  of  the  party  itself,  respectable 
both  in  number  and  ability,  opposed  the  innovation. 

Without  taking  the  trouble  to  inquire  closely  into  the 
real  causes  for  the  Whig  successes  in  the  Presidential 
election  of  1840,  Mr.  Lincoln  and  others  gave  considerable 
credit  for  these  successes  to  the  united  front  of  the  Whig 
Party,  which  had  been  very  generally  brought  about  by  a 
harmonious  national  nominating  convention.  Although 
the  Democrats  had  carried  the  State  for  V an  Buren,  those 
counties  and  legislative  districts  in  which  the  Whigs  had 
faithfully  supported  the  convention  nominees  showed  an 
increased  strength  for  that  party.  This  close  association 
of  nominating  conventions  and  political  successes  could 
have  but  one  result:  those  who  had  favored  the  system 
during  the  years  1839  and  1840  were  strengthened  in 
their  conviction,  while  the  more  conservative  element  was 

s  Sangamo  Journal,  March  16,  August  9,  September  20,  October  4  and 
11,  1839. 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


173 


less  sure  of  its  ground.  To  say  the  least,  the  convention 
had  shown  its  worth  from  the  standpoint  of  expediency, 
and  with  this  fact  established  the  opposition  within  the 
party  retreated  behind  the  stronghold  of  abstract  prin¬ 
ciples,  professing  to  believe  that  the  success  of  the  party 
was  of  less  importance  than  the  preservation  of  liberty  in 
the  choice  of  public  officials. 

Opposition  to  the  system  continued  for  several  years. 
In  1842,  a  regular  call  was  made  for  a  State  "Whig  Con¬ 
vention  to  nominate  candidates  for  governor  and  lieu¬ 
tenant-governor,  and  to  appoint  correspondence  and  vigi¬ 
lance  committees,  but  there  developed  such  a  strong  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  plan,  that  it  was  thought  advisable  by  the 
faction  favorable  to  a  convention  to  abandon  it  for  the 
sake  of  harmony.  Many  county  and  legislative  nominat¬ 
ing  conventions  were  held,  however,  but  the  bright 
prospect  of  Whig  success  had  the  effect  of  bringing  into 
the  campaign  many  independent  "Whig  candidates,  with 
the  result  that  the  Democrats  were  uniformly  successful 
in  doubtful  counties  and  districts,  and  made  serious  in¬ 
roads  into  such  strong  Whig  counties  as  Morgan,  Coles, 
and  Vermilion.9 

Heretofore  there  had  been  a  studied  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  Whig  State  organization,  which  was  favorable 
to  the  convention,  to  keep  down  any  general  discussion 
on  the  merits  of  the  system,  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
finally  prevail.  But  the  disorganization  of  the  party  in 
the  campaign  of  1842,  due,  it  was  said,  to  the  absence  of 
a  State  convention  at  which  campaign  plans  could  have 
been  laid,  convinced  the  friends  of  the  nominating  con¬ 
vention  that  an  agitation  for  its  general  adoption  was 
necessary  before  the  campaign  of  1844.  Accordingly,  at 
a  Whig  meeting  held  at  Springfield  early  in  1843,  a  com¬ 
mittee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  an  address/to  the  voters 

9  Alton  Telegraph,  March  25,  1843 ;  manuscript  election  returns  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Springfield,  Illinois. 


174  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


of  the  State ;  and  among  the  issues  discussed  by  this  com¬ 
mittee  was  the  convention.10 

The  committee,  which  was  composed  of  A.  Lincoln, 
S.  T.  Logan,  and  A.  T.  Bledsoe,  set  forth  what  may  well 
be  considered  the  attitude  of  a  majority  of  the  Whig 
Party  in  Illinois  towards  the  general  system  of  nominat¬ 
ing  conventions. 

Without  wasting  time  to  examine  the  principles  upon 
which  the  opposition  based  its  arguments,  the  address, 
which  bears  the  mark  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  hand,  struck  at  the 
very  heart  of  the  question  by  pointing  out  that  so  long  as 
the  Democrats  used  the  system,  it  was  madness  for  the 
Whigs  not  to  ‘  ‘  defend  themselves  with  it  ’  \  Thus  the  key¬ 
note  of  the  argument  as  advanced  by  the  committee  was 
expediency.  Mr.  Lincoln  saw  clearly  that  the  old  system 
was  productive  of  disorganization  and  defeat;  and  see¬ 
ing  this,  he  had  no  scruples  in  placing  what  the  opposition 
called  the  sovereign  will  of  the  people  in  the  hands  of 
delegates  selected  by  the  people  themselves.  To  support 
the  contention,  that  in  union  there  is  strength,  the  com¬ 
mittee  cited  such  illustrations  as  Aesop’s  fable  of  the 
bundle  of  sticks,  and  the  biblical  admonition  that  ‘ 4  a  house 
divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.” 

In  discussing  previous  defeats  due  to  the  absence  of 
conventions,  the  gubernatorial  election  of  1842  received 
special  attention  at  the  hands  of  the  committee.  Ex- 
G-overnor  Duncan,  who  had  been  the  Whig  candidate  for 
governor  in  that  year,  was  the  leader  of  the  opposition  to 
the  convention,  in  fact  he  had  flatly  refused  to  be  the  can¬ 
didate  if  selected  by  a  convention  of  any  sort.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  Duncan  was  originally  a  member  of  the 
“ whole  hog”  Jackson  Party,  but  he  had  left  that  party 
and  joined  the  Whigs  about.  1834,  because  of  his  opposi¬ 
tion  to  the  Democratic  Convention  of  1831  and  to  the 

io  For  report  of  committee,  see  Alton  Telegraph,  March  25,  1843. 
Nicolay  and  Hay’s  Lincoln,  Vol.  I,  p.  218,  mentions  the  address. 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


175 


general  attitude  of  the  Jackson  administration  toward 
the  United  States  Bank.  It  was  around  Duncan  as  a 
leader  that  the  various  elements  hostile  to  conventions 
had  grouped  themselves.  As  soon  as  the  address  became 
public,  Duncan  took  exception  to  it,  particularly  to  that 
part  which  intimated  that  the  Whig  defeat  of  1842  was 
due  very  largely  to  his  antagonism  to  the  convention 
system. 

Very  soon  after  the  publication  of  the  address,  Dun¬ 
can  was  given  an  opportunity  to  register  publicly  his 
protest  against  what  he  considered  an  accusation.  At  a 
meeting  of  Morgan  County  Whigs  in  March,  1843,  the 
following  resolutions  among  others  were  adopted  and 
ordered  sent  to  Governor  Duncan : 11 

1.  Resolved,  That  we  do  not  object  to  a  fair  expression  of 
the  popular  will,  either  through  primary  meetings,  or  conven¬ 
tions  so  constituted  as  to  time,  place,  and  representation,  as  to 
secure  its  proper  expression. 

2.  Resolved,  That  when  said  will  is  expressed,  it  merits  the 
most  serious  consideration;  and  that  private  feelings  and  indi¬ 
vidual  views  and  preferences  should  yield  to  it  unless  it  involves 
the  sacrifice  of  principle. 

3.  Whereas,  We  believe  that  a  late  political  document  con¬ 
veys  the  idea  that  Gov.  Duncan  would  be  unwilling  to  accept  a 
nomination  at  the  hands  of  the  people  expressed  through  a  con¬ 
vention  ;  and  whereas,  we  believe  that  such  an  idea  does  not  prop¬ 
erly  express  the  views  of  Gov.  Duncan :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  Gov.  Duncan,  and  also  Judge  Lockwood  and 
Gen.  Hardin,  be  requested  to  express  their  views  to  the  Whigs  of 
the  district,  in  relation  to  the  convention  system,  and  whether 
they  will  consent  to  be  candidates  if  chosen  by  the  convention. 

Duncan’s  reply  to  these  resolutions  embodies  the 
sum  total  of  all  the  opposition  to  the  convention,  besides 
incidentally  touching  on  political  issues  about  which  little 
is  known  at  the  present  time ;  it  is  therefore  given  in  full 

ii  Duncan ’s  reply  is  found  in  the  Alton  Telegraph  for  May  13,  1843, 
and  also  in  the  note  at  the  end  of  this  paper. 


176  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


in  a  note  at  the  close  of  this  paper.  Hence  I  shall  sum¬ 
marize  it  very  briefly,  calling  attention  only  to  those  ob¬ 
jections  which  seem  to  have  been  the  principal  article  01 
faith  of  the  opposition. 

Being  unable  to  deny  that  the  nominating  convention 
had  concentrated  voting  strength,  and  hence  had  secured 
political  successes,  Duncan  was  compelled  to  ignore  the 
question  of  expediency  and  attempt  to  point  out  the  dan¬ 
gers  to  the  government  which  would  result  from  the  use 
of  the  system.  To  his  way  of  thinking,  nominating  con¬ 
ventions  presupposed  political  parties,  which  were  not 
only  unnecessary  in  a  republican  form  of  government  but 
were  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people.  Granting 
the  legitimacy  of  the  convention,  its  personnel  had  been, 
and  would  no  doubt  continue  to  be,  of  such  a  nature  that 
the  free  expression  of  the  party  could  not  be  ascertained. 
And  finally  if  it  be  granted  that  the  will  of  the  people 
should  be  expressed  in  the  convention,  the  necessity  of 
close  organization  would  bring  about  the  development  of 
the  professional  politician  whose  very  existence  would 
depend  upon  office  and  its  patronage. 

The  evils  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Duncan  were  too  remote 
to  have  any  very  considerable  weight  in  determining  the 
attitude  of  the  party  toward  the  convention  system.  The 
rank;  and  file  of  the  Whigs  desired  success,  and  naturally 
looked  to  the  leaders  for  successful  guidance.  Whatever 
scruples  these  leaders  may  have  had  were  swept  away  by 
the  necessity  of  leading  the  party  to  victory.  To  continue 
their  leadership  victories  must  be  won,  and  to  win  them 
the  nominating  convention  system,  which  was  perhaps 
the  greatest  single  factor  in  bringing  success,  was  taken 
up  and  used  as  a  means  of  concentrating  voting  strength. 

To  summarize  in  a  paragraph,  one  can  say  that  the 
Whigs  were  ostensibly  opposed  to  the  nominating  conven¬ 
tion  until  the  year  1839,  at  which  time  many  county  and 
State  conventions  were  held.  Prior  to  this  time,  the  op- 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


177 


position  had  been  largely  of  mere  political  expediency,  for 
the  old  line  Whigs  seem  to  have  had  no  scruples  in  chang¬ 
ing  their  attitude  when  it  appeared  worth  while  to  do  so. 
Not  so,  however,  with  that  element  of  the  party  which  had 
come  over  from  the  Democrats  between  1830  and  1834. 
Its  defection  from  the  Jacksonian  ranks  had  a  beginning 
in  the  opposition  to  the  Convention  of  1831,  and  ever 
afterwards  it  was  the  nucleus  around  which  all  those  op¬ 
posed  to  the  system  grouped  themselves.  By  the  early 
forties  this  element  had  become  relatively  small,  and  with 
its  ever  decreasing  influence  came  an  increasing  demand 
for  the  convention  system.  The  stand  made  in  1842  by 
ex-Governor  Duncan  against  overwhelming  odds  marks 
the  real  end  of  any  considerable  opposition  to  the  nomi¬ 
nating  convention  by  the  Whigs  of  Illinois.12 


Note.  —  Duncan’s  reply  to  the  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  Morgan  County  Whigs  in  March,  1843,  is  as  fol¬ 
lows: 

Elm  Grove. 

Gentlemen :  —  You  will  see  by  the  foregoing  resolutions, 
passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Whigs  of  this  county  on  the  22d  of 
March,  that  I  have  been  called  upon  to  give  my  views  to  the 
Whigs  of  this  Congressional  District  in  relation  to  the  convention 
system,  and  also,  to  say  whether  I  will  consent  to  be  a  candidate, 
if  chosen  by  the  convention.  These  resolutions  also  allude  to  an 
address  made  to  the  people  of  the  State  by  Messrs.  Lincoln, 
Logan  and  Bledsoe,  which  was  prepared  in  obedience  to  a  resolu¬ 
tion  of  a  Whig  meeting  of  members  of  the  Legislature  and  other 
citizens  at  the  capitol,  on  the  fourth  of  March.  It  does  not,  how¬ 
ever,  appear  to  have  been  presented  to,  or  approved  of,  by  the 
meeting,  but  was  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  10th. 

I  beg  leave,  before  answering  either  of  the  inquiries  put  to 

12  See  Alton  Telegraph  for  February  25,  March  11  and  25,  April  1 
and  15,  and  May  6  and  13,  1843.  For  the  attitude  of  Quincy  Whig,  Alton 
Telegraph,  Charleston  Courier,  and  Sangamo  Journal,  all  Illinois  papers, 
on  the  question  of  the  convention  system  about  1842,  see  Sangamo  Journal, 
October  8,  1841. 


178  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


me,  to  notice  some  of  the  arguments,  facts  and  conclusions  of 
that  address  in  favor  of  the  convention  system ;  which  1  shall  do, 
however,  with  reluctance,  because  some  of  them,  though  certainly 
not  so  intended,  are  considered  rather  reproachful  to  myself :  and 
although  I  may  point  out  some  errors,  and  shall  endeavor  to  re¬ 
fute  the  arguments  and  statements  it  contains  with  candor,  it 
shall  be  in  a  spirit  of  the  utmost  kindness.  This  address  strongly 
urges  the  convention  system,  and  says :  —  “  Whether  it  is  right 
in  itself,  we  do  not  stop  to  inquire;  contenting  ourselves  with 
trying  to  show,  that  while  our  opponents  use  it,  it  is  madness  in 
us  not  to  defend  ourselves  with  it.  For  example,  look  at  the  elec¬ 
tions  of  last  year.  Our  candidate  for  Governor,  with  the  approba;- 
tion  of  a  large  portion  of  his  party,  took  the  field  without  a  nomi¬ 
nation,  and  in  open  opposition  to  the  system.  Whereever  in  the 
counties  the  Whigs  had  held  conventions,  and  nominated  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  Legislature,  the  aspirants,  who  were  not  nominated, 
were  induced  to  rebel  against  the  nominations  and  to  become 
candidates,"  as  it  is  said,  ‘on  their  own  hook.’  ”  This  statement 
is  generally  understood,  as  intended  to  convey  the  idea,  that  my 
refusal  to  submit  to  a  convention,  had  defeated  the  Whig  party  in 
this  State  at  the  election  last  summer,  which  I  think  an  error; 
and  the  intimation  that  I  had  forced  myself  into  the  field,  with 
the  approbation  of  only  a  portion  of  the  party,  and  that  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  Legislature  in  some  of  the  counties  were  induced  to 
rebel  against  nominations  by  conventions,  either  by  my  advice  or 
example,  is  certainly  incorrect,  and  if  intended  as  a  censure,  is 
equally  unjust.  The  Sangamo  Journal,  of  the  30th  March,  con¬ 
tains  an  article  also  addressed  to  the  Whig  party,  from  which  I 
make  the  following  extract,  leaving  you  to  make  the  application. 
After  urging  the  Whigs  to  adopt  the  convention  system,  it 
says:  —  “If  any  are  foolhardy  enough  to  run  as  independent 
candidates,  let  them  enjoy  the  singularity  they  court,  and  re¬ 
main  independent  and  alone ;  in  almost  every  instance  they  meet 
the  fate  they  deserve ;  and  while  they  involve  themselves  in  politi¬ 
cal  death,  amid  merited  obloquy  and  scorn ,  we  shall  regret  to  see 
any  portion  of  the  Whig  party  connected  with  them.  Banish 
from  your  ranks  the  selfish,  and  time-serving  politician,  who,  not 
satisfied  with  his  own  disgrace,  would  desire  your  misfortunes  to 
cover  his  own  defeat.  ’  ’ 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


179 


It  is  a  fact  known  to  many,  that  a  large  number  of  both 
political  parties  solicited  me  to  become  a  candidate  for  Governor, 
as  early  as  the  winter  of  1840-1,  expressing  their  confidence  that 
I  could  do  something  towards  relieving  the  State  from  the  em¬ 
barrassments  which  I  had  so  often  predicted,  and  had  so  anxious¬ 
ly  attempted  to  avert,  while  I  was  Governor  before.  Under  such 
influences,  and  with  the  hope  that  I  might  be  able  to  do  something, 
if  elected  by  a  union  of  both  parties  upon  the  State  policy,  among 
other  good  results,  to  allay  party  spirit,  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
become  a  candidate,  provided  the  Whigs  presented  no  other  per¬ 
son;  but  during  the  fall  and  summer  of  1841,  Col.  Davidson,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  Gen.  Thornton,  myself,  and  others,  were  all  placed  be¬ 
fore  the  public,  and  a  convention  was  proposed  to  settle  our  re¬ 
spective  claims.  Having  no  wish  from  personal  motives,  either 
to  be  a  candidate,  or  to  hold  the  office  again,  and  believing  that 
defeat  would  be  inevitable  to  any  one  nominated  by  a  convention 
on  party  grounds,  as  the  Whigs  were  in  a  minority  of  7,000  or 
8,000,  I  requested  Mr.  Lucas  to  announce  that  I  would  not  be  a 
candidate ;  which  he  did  in  the  Illinoian  in  November,  1841. 
About  this  time  I  left  home  for  New  York;  and  on  my  return  in 
1842,  in  place  of  “taking  the  field, ”  I  found  that  all  those  gentle¬ 
men  had  withdrawn,  and  that  my  name,  without  my  knowledge, 
had  been  placed  before  the  public  by  most  of  the  Whig  presses  and 
by  popular  meetings  of  the  people.  Thus  made  a  candidate,  I 
employed  every  honorable  means  in  my  power,  not  only  to  secure 
my  own  election,  but  to  harmonize  our  friends;  and  instead  of 
defeating  the  party,  although  I  may  not  have  received  much  sup¬ 
port  from  some  of  those  who  were  anxious  for  a  convention,  the 
vote  I  received  was  usually  much  larger  than  that  given  to  other 
Whig  candidates  in  the  counties,  and  in  some  instances  where  Van 
Buren  men  were  elected,  I  had  large  majorities  over  my  oppo¬ 
nents. 

But  as  my  defeat  is  so  much  relied  upon,  as  an  argument  in 
favor  of  the  convention  system,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  inquire 
whether  this  defeat  cannot  be  accounted  for  in  some  other  way, 
than  the  want  of  a  convention  nomination ;  and  in  my  opinion  it 
can.  Does  any  one  doubt  that  Mr.  Van  Buren ’s  two  trips  across 
the  State,  just  before  the  election,  was  intended  to  have,  and  did 
have,  the  effect  to  rally  his  party,  many  of  whom,  up  to  that  time, 


180  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


were  warmly  supporting  my  election?  In  addition  to  this,  my 
not  having  visited  him  when  in  Jacksonville,  was  magnified  into 
a  gross  and  personal  insult,  and  was  published  all  over  the  State 
for  the  purpose  of  exciting  his  party  against  me.  All  the  public 
officers,  and  politicians  of  his  party  in  the  State,  were  put  in 
motion ;  and  Y oung  and  Reynolds  used  the  Congressional  franks, 
to  flood  the  State  with  vile  slanders  against  the  Whig  party  and 
in  support  of  my  opponent.  The  Whigs  were  generally  disheart¬ 
ened  by  their  defeat  in  other  States ;  most  of  the  politicians  taking 
no  part  in  the  elections,  while  others  were  bowing  and  scraping 
to,  and  parading  over  the  country  with  Mr.  Van  Buren  —  a  fact 
which  my  opponent  did  not  fail  to  notice  in  his  speeches,  as  the 
most  conclusive  evidence,  that  all  the  previous  charges  made 
by  the  Whigs  against  him  were  false  and  hypocritical  —  which  he 
illustrated  by  telling  of  a  son  of  one  of  the  leading  Whigs,  who, 
on  Mr.  Van  Buren ’s  arrival  at  Springfield,  seeing  his  father  rush 
through  the  crowd  and  sieze  him  by  the  hand,  did  not  doubt,  from 
what  he  had  often  heard  his  father  say  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  that 
he  was  taking  him  to  jail,  and  ran  home,  crying,  “Mother! 
mother !  they  have  got  the  traitor  at  last !  ’  ’ 

Morgan  county  is  named  in  the  address  as  one  of  the  counties 
where  the  Whigs  were  defeated  at  the  last  election,  by  a  rebellion 
of  disappointed  candidates  against  the  nomination  of  a  conven¬ 
tion.  The  convention  in  this  county,  I  learn,  was  composed  of 
but  few  individuals ;  and  several  precincts  were  unrepresented.  I 
understand  that  the  first  resolution  they  passed,  was  an  act  of 
proscription,  declaring  that  no  one  should  be  nominated  for  any 
office  he  had  ever  held  before ;  and  that  some  of  the  persons  re¬ 
fused  to  accept.  Is  there  any  thing  in  this  to  favor  conventions  ? 
Certainly  not.  It  only  shows  the  great  danger  and  impropriety 
of  interfering  with  the  elective  franchise  of  men,  who  are  re¬ 
solved  to  think  for  themselves.  Notwithstanding  the  denuncia¬ 
tions  sent  forth  in  advance,  and  all  that  may  be  anticipated,  I 
must  continue  to  express  my  opposition  to  what  is  called  the  con¬ 
vention  system,  such  as  was  established  by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and 
has  been  practiced  by  his  party  for  the  last  twelve  years,  and 
which  is  now  recommended  by  a  portion  of  our  friends  to  be 
adopted  by  the  Whig  party  as  a  measure  of  defense.  Whatever 
may  be  the  motive  of  this  recommendation,  we  all  know  that  the 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


181 


love  of  power  is  insatiable ;  that  power  is  constantly  stealing  from 
the  many  to  the  few ;  and  that  the  convention  system,  as  used  by 
the  Van  Burenites,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  contrivance  of 
government  officers,  of  office  seekers,  and  men  who  make  politics 
a  trade,  to  take  the  selection  of  all  public  agents  from  the  people, 
leaving  them  nothing  to  do  but  to  vote  as  the  leaders  or  drill- 
masters  tell  them.  I  admit  to  the  fullest  extent,  the  right,  and 
on  great  occasions,  the  propriety,  of  the  people  to  hold  public  con¬ 
ventions,  either  en  masse  or  by  representatives,  to  act  or  deliber¬ 
ate  upon  any  subject  that  may  interest  them:  and  I  hold  that  a 
measure  or  candidate,  agreed  upon  by  compromise,  or  a  recom¬ 
mendation  of  such  a  convention,  when  it  is  known  fairly  to 
represent  the  wishes  of  the  people  or  of  a  party,  should  have 
great  weight  with  all,  who  in  the  main,  agree  with  them  in  opin¬ 
ion.  Acting  upon  this  principle,  it  is  well  known,  that  when 
delegates  were  sent  from  every  part  of  the  Union  to  the  Harris¬ 
burg  Convention  in  1839,  to  deliberate  upon  measures  to  drive 
Van  Buren,  (who  had  degraded,  corrupted,  and  almost  ruined 
the  country,)  from  the  Capitol,  that  I  advanced  fifty  dollars  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  representatives  from  this  State ;  and, 
although  my  favorite  candidate  was  not  selected,  I  gave  Gen. 
Harrison  the  most  cordial  support.  Here  was  a  great  occasion. 

The  usurpations,  corruptions,  and  mal-adminiistration  of 
Government  had  roused  the  people  in  every  part  of  the  Union,  and 
we  all  hoped  that  the  success  of  the  Whig  party  at  that  election 
would  sweep  Van  Burenism  and  all  its  evils,  from  the  country. 
It  was  not  to  be  so.  Although  he  was  defeated  by  near  150,000 
majority,  the  blight  is  still  upon  us.  But  I  protest  against  being 
made  responsible  for  it  in  the  remotest  degree. 

For  twelve  years  I  have  been  opposing  the  corrupting  and 
anti-republican  policy  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  the  great  lever  of 
which,  was  this  inquisition,  or  convention  system,  which  he  com¬ 
menced  establishing  over  the  whole  Union  for  the  first  time, 
while  Secretary  of  State  under  Gen.  Jackson.  The  office  holders, 
the  office  seekers,  and  thousands  of  unprincipled  demagogues,  in¬ 
fluenced  by  the  power  and  patronage  of  the  government,  flocked 
to  his  standard,  and  were  employed  in  organizing  the  friends  of 
Gen.  Jackson  and  those  of  the  Secretary,  into  a  drilled  and  servile 
party,  which  they  then  christened  and  have  since  called  the  Demo- 


182  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


era  tic  party.  Conventions  were  resorted  to  as  the  best  means  of 
perfecting  this  organization ;  and  denunciation,  proscription, 
slander  and  persecution,  were  the  weapons  freely  used  against  all, 
and  especially  against  the  original  supporters  of  Gen.  Jackson, 
who  opposed  his  ambitious  views.  Can  stronger  evidence  of  the 
evils  and  dangers  of  the  convention  system  be  desired,  than  the 
well  known  fact  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  a  man  without  merit  or  claim 
upon  the  country,  having  wormed  himself  into  the  Presidential 
chair  by  it,  and,  in  doing  so,  spread  more  corruption  and  discord 
through  the  country,  and  did  more  to  destroy  confidence  in  our 
free  institutions,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  than  he  and  all  his 
friends  would  be  able  to  repair  if  they  should  live  a  thousand 
years.  Universal  history  proves  that  party  spirit,  even  in  its  best 
form,  when  dictated  by  patriotism,  in  moments  of  excitement  has 
often  been  made  the  instrument  of  much  evil  and  of  great  oppres¬ 
sion.  Who  can  doubt  after  the  experience  we  have  had,  that  the 
organization  of  people  into  parties,  on  the  selfish,  vindictive  and 
proscriptive  principles  of  Van  Buren,  is  just  as  dangerous  to  the 
liberty,  peace  and  safety  of  every  honorable  and  independent  citi¬ 
zen,  as  a  large  mercenary  army  of  regular  soldiers  would  be  to  the 
liberty  and  peace  of  the  whole  country?  I  consider  that  the 
Whigs,  who  have  so  long  and  honorably  opposed  this  corrupt  and 
dangerous  system,  would  be  just  as  unwise  and  inconsistent  to 
adopt  it  now,  even  in  self-defence,  as  this  government  would  be 
to  establish  and  maintain  large  standing  armies  in  time  of  peace, 
because  hereditary  monarchs  opposed  to  popular  government  em¬ 
ploy  them.  If  we  are  to  be  made  slaves,  it  matters  not  whether 
our  masters  come  from  the  ranks  of  our  friends  or  our  enemies. 
I  do,  therefore,  as  a  Whig,  and  as  a  citizen,  ardently  desiring  the 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  country,  protest  against 
this  odious  convention  system,  or  any  other  principle  of  action, 
however  plausibly  it  may  be  urged,  “  without  stopping  to  inquire 
whether  it  is  right ;  ’  ’  and  I  dissent  entirely  from  an  opinion  also 
expressed  in  this  address,  that  “they  can  see  nothing  wrong  in 
applying  the  convention  system  to  the  nomination  of  candidates 
for  small  offices  in  nowise  connected  with  parties.”  This,  I  sup¬ 
pose  has  particular  reference  to  legislative  conventions,  such  as 
are  usually  held  in  the  slaughter  pen,  (as  it  is  aptly  termed)  by 
the  Van  Buren  party,  in  which  the  leading  politicians  of  that 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


183 


party  about  the  seat  of  government,  during  the  session  of  the 
Legislature,  assemble  at  night  to  decide  upon  the  claims  of  parti¬ 
sans,  and  also  upon  measures  and  elections  that  should  be  dis¬ 
cussed  and  enacted  by  the  whole  Legislature.  I  can  view  this 
slaughter  pen  or  inquisition  in  no  other  light,  than  as  an  avenue 
through  which  men  in  power  will  some  day  lead  their  opponents 
to  the  block  or  the  guillotine. 

It  is  against  the  spirit  of  freedom  and  of  our  constitution 
for  a  minority  to  rule ;  yet  by  this  contrivance  a  few  active  poli¬ 
ticians  about  the  seat  of  government,  such  as  has  been  the  case 
with  the  Kitchen  Cabinet  at  Washington,  and  the  Regency  at  Al¬ 
bany,  can  govern  the  legislation  and  manage  all  appointments  to 
office. 

An  organized  party,  like  an  army,  must  have  captains,  sub¬ 
alterns,  and  drill  masters,  who  are  commonly  styled  Committees 
of  Vigilance,  and  expect  to  be  rewarded  for  their  services  when 
successful,  out  of  the  spoils.  Thus  stimulated  by  ambition  and 
self-interest,  they  meet  in  secret,  without  individual  responsibil¬ 
ity  or  fear  of  detection,  and  then  devise  means  for  destroying 
their  opponents,  and  for  deceiving  and  managing  the  people. 
They  are  inquisitorial  judges  of  the  merits  and  demerits  of  all 
persons  in  office,  and  recommend  rewards  or  punishments,  not 
according  to  services  rendered  and  to  be  rendered  to  the  country, 
but  to  the  party.  Those  leaders  dictate  what  men  and  measures 
the  party  are  to  support ;  and  being  themselves  most  interested  in 
the  issue,  when  hard  pressed  resort  to  desperate  expedients.  By 
their  peculiar  situation  and  influence  over  the  party  for  whom 
they  act,  they  may  with  impunity  promise  and  confer  the  highest 
military  honors,  grant  the  public  arms,  and  the  most  extraordi¬ 
nary  powers ;  and  doubtless  will,  if  nothing  less  can  secure  success, 
give  the  control  of  the  government  itself,  to  any  general,  priest,  or 
prophet,  as  a  bribe  for  votes  enough  to  place  their  party  in  power. 
If  any  one  supposes  such  a  thing  impossible,  let  them  look  at  the 
political  movements  and  legislation  in  our  own  State  for  the  last 
two  or  three  years;  let  them  see  the  cringing  of  ambitious  office 
seekers  of  both  parties  at  the  feet  of  the  Mormon  Prophet;  es¬ 
pecially  since  he  published  his  manifesto,  in  the  shape  of  a  procla¬ 
mation,  declaring  that  he  and  his  followers  “cared  not  a  fig  for 
Whigs  or  Democrats ;  that  they  are  both  alike  to  them ;  that  they 


184  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


would  go  for  their  friends,  their  tried  friends  —  those  who  served 
them  they  would  serve  again.”  It  is  the  avowal  of  such  princi¬ 
ples,  and  by  the  whole  legion  acting  and  voting  as  one  man,  that 
this  bold  adventurer,  in  the  short  space  of  three  years,  has  ob¬ 
tained  control  over  the  elections  in  several  counties,  in  at  least  one 
congressional  district,  and  at  a  general  election,  over  the  whole 
State.  Formidable  as  this  Mormon  Prophet  is  becoming,  his  is 
not  the  only  power  ambitious  of  political  sway,  that  he  may  take 
advantage  of  our  divisions.  All  know  that  there  is  another  large 
and  powerful  church  in  this  country,  whose  faith  in  its  head  is 
also  superior  to  their  political  opinions  ;  and  we  see  by  repeated 
accounts  of  late  from  Europe,  that  extensive  arrangements  are 
now  making  to  send  millions  of  his  subjects  to  this  country. 

By  this  party  drill,  the  rank  and  file  are  forced  to  ratify 
every  bargain  made  by  their  leaders,  however  repugnant  it  may 
be  to  their  feelings,  rather  than  split  from  this  party,  and  be 
called  traitors  to  their  principles ;  for  experience  has  shown  that 
most  men  would  sacrifice  their  country,  and  compromise  their 
honor,  or  their  principles,  sooner  than  encounter  the  sneers,  much 
less  the  obloquy  and  scorn  of  a  party,  after  having  firmly  en¬ 
listed  under  its  banners.  This  convention  system,  if  adopted  by 
both  parties,  will  make  our  government  a  prize  to  be  sought  after 
by  political  gamblers.  It  throws  the  chains  of  slavery  and  degra¬ 
dation  around  its  votaries,  prostrates  the  fine  feelings  of  nature, 
extinguishes  every  spark  of  patriotism,  creates  jealousies,  dis¬ 
trusts,  and  angry  divisions  in  society,  and  will  ultimately  make  us 
an  easy  prey  to  some  fiend,  or  despot,  at  the  head  of  an  army  or 
church,  whose  followers,  like  themselves,  love  the  spoils  of  power 
better  than  the  liberty  of  their  country. 

When  those  slaughter-pen  conventions  are  held  exclusively 
by  members  of  the  Legislature,  a  majority  of  the  party  holding 
them  —  which  party  may  be  barely  a  majority  of  the  whole  — 
they  dictate  measures  which  two-thirds  of  the  Legislature  might 
be  opposed  to ;  by  which  means  a  large  portion  of  the  Representa¬ 
tives  are  arbitrarily  deprived  of  their  constitutional  rights  to 
participate  in  the  adoption  of  measures  to  which  they  and  their 
constituents  are  bound  to  submit.  These  conventions  teach  the 
people  to  lean  upon  the  politicians  instead  of  investigating,  acting 
and  thinking  for  themselves.  They  will  always  give  the  party  in 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


185 


power  great  advantages  over  their  opponents,  and  will  enable  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  when  at  the  head  of  either  of  the 
great  parties,  by  the  use  of  his  patronage  and  power,  nine  times 
out  of  ten  to  re-elect  himself,  or  to  designate  his  successor ;  and  it 
will  always  enable  the  most  corrupt  and  active  politician,  who 
promises  most  offices,  to  get  himself  nominated  in  county  or  dis¬ 
trict  conventions. 

In  fact,  I  look  upon  the  convention  system  as  designed  by  its 
authors  to  change  the  government  from  the  free  will  of  the  people 
into  the  hands  of  designing  politicians,  and  which  must  in  a  short 
time  drive  from  public  employment,  every  honest  man  in  the 
country.  Is  it  not  so  to  a  great  extent  already?  Witness  the 
number  of  unprincipled  and  incompetent  men  which  it  has 
brought  into  office,  and  into  the  councils  of  the  country.  Congress 
is  a  little  less  than  a  disorderly  mob,  and  legislatures  have  de¬ 
graded  and  ruined  the  country.  Who  are  we  required  to  or¬ 
ganize  ourselves  against  ?  Are  they  not  our  friends,  brothers  and 
countrymen?  It  is  true,  designing  demagogues  have  poisoned 
their  minds,  excited  their  prejudices,  and  by  party  trammels  have 
led  them  on  to  injure  us,  themselves,  and  their  country ;  but  time, 
forbearance,  persevering  in  well-doing  on  our  part,  must  convince 
the  honest  portion  of  our  opponents  that  we  are  true  friends  to 
our  country.  A  long  period  of  deception  and  bad  government  on 
the  part  of  their  leaders,  has  opened  the  eyes  of  many ;  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  they  will  soon  throw  off  all  party  prejudice,  and 
judge  of  public  men  by  the  honesty  and  wisdom  of  their  measures. 
They  will  then  judge  correctly  between  the  patriot,  who  delights 
in  the  honor,  prosperity  and  happiness  of  his  country,  and  the 
selfish  miscreant  who  would  divide  it  into  parties,  excite  sectional 
and  personal  prejudices,  array  brother  against  brother,  father 
against  son,  and  the  rich  against  the  poor,  that  they,  poor  short¬ 
sighted  wretches,  might  fill,  for  a  season,  some  pitiful  office.  Such 
men  we  have  among  us;  and  I  never  witness  the  intrigues  and 
management  of  one  of  them,  without  feeling  the  pity  and  con¬ 
tempt  due  to  an  incendiary,  who  would  fire  and  desolate  a  city 
merely  to  plunder  a  single  shop. 

Can  any  man  at  this  day  doubt  that  there  is  intelligence, 
patriotism  and  virtue  enough  in  the  Whig  party,  or  in  both 
parties,  to  sustain  our  free  institutions,  and  carry  on  the  govern- 


186  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


ment  as  our  fathers  did,  without  resorting  to  this  party  drill,  or 
without  putting  on  the  shabby  old  coat  of  Locofocoism,  which  all 
honest  men  among  them  are  now  getting  ashamed  of,  made  up  as 
it  is  of  sneers,  intrigues,  denunciations,  and  dictations  of  men, 
seeking  by  such  means  to  bring  the  people  under  the  control  of 
party  leaders?  For  myself,  (and  I  believe  it  is  the  sentiment  of 
every  true  Whig,)  “I  had  rather  enjoy  one  day,  one  hour,  of  vir¬ 
tuous  liberty,  than  to  live  an  eternity  in  bondage.  ’  ’ 

It  is  my  deliberate  opinion,  formed  by  long  observation  of 
the  spirit  of  the  Van  Buren  party,  that  if  the  Whigs  shall  now 
consent  to  organize  and  act  upon  the  same  principles,  that  elec¬ 
tions  in  this  country  will  become  as  corrupt  as  they  are  in  the  rot¬ 
ten  boroughs  of  England;  and  that  the  government  will  soon  end 
in  angry  contests,  civil  war,  and  perhaps  in  despotism.  All  know 
the  advantage  that  organization,  subordination,  and  discipline, 
give  regular  troops  over  raw  militia;  but  experience  has  shown 
that  citizens,  who  feel  it  to  be  no  less  a  privilege  than  a  duty  to 
defend  their  country,  though  often  routed,  have  rarely  been  van¬ 
quished  by  a  mercenary  army,  however  well  appointed.  Who 
doubts  that  if  the  Whigs  remain  firm  in  maintaining  the  laws,  the 
constitutions  and  free  institutions  of  the  country,  showing  on  all 
occasions  a  patriotism  above  all  selfish  or  party  triumphs,  that 
the  virtuous  portion  of  all  parties  will  throw  off  the  shackles 
which  party  machinery  has  imposed  upon  them  ?  Then  they  will 
as  before  1830,  when  the  republic  was  pure,  and  as  in  1840,  march 
to  the  polls  like  freemen,  and  vote  for  men  and  measures  on  their 
own  judgment.  Then  those  little,  intriguing  politicians,  who 
have  of  late  acquired  such  consequence  from  their  participation 
in  the  management  of  elections,  (while  honest  men  who  support 
the  government  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  are  at  home  attending 
to  their  business, )  will  have  to  go  to  work,  or  sink  into  the  insig¬ 
nificance  and  contempt  which  await  the  loafer  and  selfish  hypo¬ 
crite  !  As  this  address  has  narrowed  the  contest  between  us  and 
the  Van  Buren  party  down  to  three  questions,  to-wit:  the  bank, 
tariff,  and  distribution,  which  I  consider  of  minor  importance,  I 
feel  bound  before  closing  this  letter,  to  state  what  I  consider  the 
most  important  points  at  issue  between  the  parties,  because,  un¬ 
less  the  breaches  lately  made  and  discovered  by  politicians  in  our 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


187 


Constitution  are  repaired,  any  law  to  protect  our  own  industry, 
or  to  regulate  the  currency,  will  be  little  better  than  a  dead  letter 
upon  the  statute  books. 

The  Whig  party,  as  I  understand  their  principles,  are  for 
maintaining  the  supremacy  of  the  law  and  constitution;  and 
hold  any  public  officer  to  be  an  enemy  to  his  country,  who  usurps 
authority  or  exercises  power  not  clearly  conferred  upon  him  by 
one  or  the  other. 

We  are  for  maintaining  inviolate  chartered  rights  and  the 
public  faith. 

We  are  for  strict  economy  in  carrying  on  the  government. 

We  are  in  favor  of  a  tariff,  or  a  tax,  to  support  government; 
being  levied  first  upon  such  articles  as  come  in  competition  with 
those  made  in  our  own  country ;  next  upon  all  articles  of  luxury, 
leaving  free  of  tax  as  far  as  is  consistent,  articles  of  necessity, 
such  as  are  required  by  every  family. 

We  are  for  a  well  guarded  bank,  chartered  by  the  United 
States,  to  act  as  a  fiscal  agent  of  the  government,  to  regulate  our 
currency  and  assist  commerce,  to  be  owned  and  directed  chiefly 
by  private  stock-holders,  who  shall  be  responsible  to  Congress,  or 
its  special  agent,  for  their  strict  observance  of  the  law  and  their 
fidelity  to  the  government. 

We  are  for  reducing  executive  patronage.  We  believe  that 
public  officers  were  created  to  serve  the  country,  and  their  duties 
should  be  defined  by  law;  so  that  the  president  should  have  no 
power  over  them,  except  when  unfaithful  or  incompetent. 

We  believe  that  every  private  citizen  and  public  officer 
should  be  left  free  to  speak,  act  and  vote  according  to  his  own 
judgment ;  and  that  he  who  attempts  to  control,  or  by  an  exercise 
of  power  or  management  of  any  kind,  to  abridge  those  rights,  is 
guilty  of  an  assault  upon  public  liberty. 

We  are  opposed  to  proscription,  and  removals  of  competent 
public  agents  for  their  political  opinions,  by  the  executive  govern¬ 
ment,  because  it  degrades  and  enslaves  the  public  officer,  takes 
away  his  responsibility  to  the  law  and  the  people,  and  makes  him 
at  will,  the  servile  tool  of  men  in  power. 

We  are  opposed  to  the  ostracism  practiced  by  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  which  drove  from  the  service  of  the  country,  many  of  our 
best,  most  talented,  and  useful  citizens. 


188  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


We  are  in  favor  of  amending  the  constitution,  to  limit  the 
presidential  office  to  one  term,  in  order  to  deprive  the  President 
of  all  motive  to  indulge  an  improper  ambition. 

We  are  opposed  to  executive  appointments  of  members  of 
Congress  to  office,  because  we  have  had  abundant  evidence  that 
it  corrupts  and  destroys  the  independence  of  the  people’s  repre¬ 
sentatives,  and  turns  their  eyes  from  their  constituents  to  the 
government. 

We  are  for  some  efficient  plan  to  keep  the  press  and  judi¬ 
ciary  free  from  executive  influence. 

We  are  opposed  to  all  executive  control  over  public  money 
until  appropriated  by  law;  because  the  Constitution  wisely  in¬ 
tended  to  make  Congress  or  their  agent  the  keeper  of  the  public 
funds ;  and  common  sense  teaches  us  that  money,  the  lever  of  all 
power,  should  never  be  lodged  with  one  who  wields  the  patronage 
and  directs  the  arms  of  the  country. 

We  are  opposed  to  all  government  banks,  sub -treasuries  and 
exchequers,  because  either  of  them  must  greatly  extend  executive 
power,  and  because  experience  has  shown  that  politicians,  (and 
all  government  officers  are  of  late  made  politicians)  are  not  to 
be  trusted  with  money. 

Whenever  these  things  can  be  effected,  and  the  people  shall 
once  more  prefer  the  success  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  country 
to  the  triumphs  of  party,  our  Government  will  be  pure,  our 
liberties  safe,  and  the  people  united,  prosperous  and  happy. 

My  answer  to  the  inquiry,  whether  I  will,  if  chosen  by  the 
convention  to  be  held  in  this  congressional  district,  accept  the 
nomination,  is,  that  I  have  no  wish  at  this  time  to  enter  public 
life.  I  believe  that  every  man  in  the  country  has  the  right  to 
offer  for  any  office  he  pleases ;  that  he  has  also  the  right  to  vote 
for  whom  he  pleases;  that  the  people  have  the  right  to  meet  in 
conventions  and  nominate  candidates;  but  I  recognize  in  them 
no  power  to  make  me  vote  for  a  man  that  I  do  not  believe  to  be 
honest,  or  support  a  measure  that  I  do  not  think  best  for  the  i 

country ;  nor  to  commit  me  in  any  way  against  my  judgment  or 
my  principles ;  and  if  I  were  anxious  to  be  a  candidate,  which  is 
most  sincerely  not  the  case,  I  could  not  with  my  present  views  * 

accept  a  nomination  from  a  convention  of  any  organized  party. 

I  also  admit  the  entire  right  of  such  as  may  feel  offended, 


THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 


189 


(though  I  declare  no  personal  offence  has  been  intended)  to  de¬ 
nounce  me  as  much  as  they  please  for  this  letter,  which  has  been 
written  under  a  strong  sense  of  duty,  and  not  without  much  pain 
at  being  compelled  to  differ  with  so  many  of  my  best  friends. 

JOSEPH  DUNCAN. 


